Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-04-30
THE CYCLONE.
The Vicinity of McMinnville Visited
by Very Destructive Storm

,. Dy very O6SIIuCU1N6 DtOIIu
About three O'Clock on Friday after
noon Of last week a cyclone was form
ed by the meeting oftwo storm clouds
about midway between McMinnville
and Ben Lomond mountain. The
cloud assumed the regulation cyclone
or funnel-shaped form and took
general easterly direction. 1t dipped
down to the earth just before reach
ing the residence of Mr.. O. F.. Bruster,
about two and a half miles from town
on the Beersheba road. Mr. Bruster's
dwelling, a large two story brick
house, was entirely unrotfed, and the
front wall of one upper room and rear
wall of another were torn down to a
level with the bottom of the windows.
Every out house on the premises was
more or less damaged, and q number
of trees in the yard, some very large
ones, were blown down, uprooted, or
broken off and shivered at various
heights. Along the entire track of
the storm, from Bruster's to Shells
ford, there was vast destruction of
orchard and forest trees, fences, etc.
Nearly every house between these
two points was more or less damaged,
and several of them completely de-
molished. e.
The old dwelling on the Shellsford
road occupied by Mr.. Aaron Higgin-
botham, said to be the first brick house
ever built in the county, was so badly
wrecked it will haveto be torn down.
| The large two story house of Mr..
Thos. Chasteen was completely wreck
ed, all of the furniture was blown out
of the house and broken to pieces, and
a great deal of the family clothing,
which was hung on chairs around the
fire, was burned. The heavy rain
which Immediately followed the
storm prevented the ruins of thehouse
from being consumed by fire.
The house occupied by Mr.. Silas
McGregor, and two or three other
small dwellings along the route, were
RACED to the ground, nothing being
left intact but the floors, and most of
those were displaced several feet.
The grange hall at Shellsford was
raised from its foundation and carried
several feet down the hill, but was
not torn to pieces.
The barn of Mr.. J. H. DeBard,
which stood about sixty feet from his
dwelling, was torn into fragments.
Every out house on his premises was
either totally destroyed or badly
wrecked. His dwelling was also
slightly damaged. Mr.. DeBard's fine
. Jersey COW, which was in the barn al
the time of the storm, was killed.
The stable which stood on the river
bank about hundred yards before
the -four mill was completely demol.
ished. A pair of mules which were
in this stable at the time escaped I'm.
hurt, with the exception of a few
slight scratches.
Mr.. Geo. Mead's kitchen was con
siderably damaged, and the railing
around the observatory on his resi-
dence was partially carried away.
Y Mead & DeBard had something
, over million feet of lumber stacked
on their yard, and fully third of il
was torn down and scattered abou
in every direction. Between fifty
and one hundred thousand feet wa
n so badly split up as to be almos
p worthless, except for kindling wood
# Several thousand feet went into tn,
t river and tioated away. A log raft il
h the river was torn to pieces, and thu
+ ferry boat sunk. A number of mel
were at work around the mill, blu
none of them were injured. They sa,
l. it was as dark as midnight during tn
continuance of the storm. Neithe
d Of the mill buildings wereinjured.
Z Several persons were more or les
!. bruised, among them Messrs. San
l. Bruster, Dave Bouldin, Silas McGreg
e or, Mrs. VIM. Dodson and two child
II u rem, and Mrs. VIM. Pennington, bu
as none of them were seriously hurt IAN,
a no one was killed. The marrow
e escapes from death of dozens of pei
d sons in the wrecked houses were sim
n ply miraculous, and can be accounte
% for in no other manner save throug
the agency of overriding Providence
Of 1t looks almost incredible that S
r. many houses,all occupied by familie.
if could be so completely demolishe
h without loss of life. Several person
n were blown out of their houses anon
r tho debris and vpt eCpaned yv;tho,